It takes a special someone to calm irate state employees after a county commissioner calls them “a bunch of overstuffed pigs feeding at the public trough.”

In Washington County, that special someone was County Administrator Jim Schug.

When former county commissioner Myra Peterson disparaged Minnesota Department of Natural Resources officials at a public workshop in the mid-1990s, Schug had to jump into the fray.

Peterson said last week that she didn’t know a newspaper reporter was in the room during her tirade. When the quotation appeared in print, people at the DNR got mad.

“Jim had to bail me out of that one,” Peterson said. “The DNR sent letters, and I had to apologize. We were in the process of buying land from them, and he had to negotiate that. It was an ‘Oh, my God, now I know why I love Jim’ time. So do I think he’s top drawer? You bet. I always listened to his advice.”

Schug, 62, retires Thursday after 17 years as the county’s chief administrator.

During his tenure, he helped guide the county through a population increase of 80 percent.

“One of the things we’ve been really successful in doing is operating a bigger organization and serving a greater population, but we’ve done it in a way that maintains a personal touch,” Schug said during a recent interview in his fifth-floor corner office in the Washington County Government Center in Stillwater.

Schug gently steered the five-member board of commissioners into making the best decisions for the county, Peterson said.

“He was always sensitive and caring,” she said. “He was very caring about our employees, he was caring about us, and he was caring about the citizens.”

“It’s never about Jim,” she said. “It’s never about recognition for himself. He leads by example and … leaves things in better shape than the way he found them.”

Commissioner Bill Pulkrabek said Schug took him under his wing when he was elected to the board in 1998.

“Even though I’m technically Jim’s boss, he was always a mentor to me, especially those first few years,” Pulkrabek said. “Outside of being a great administrator, he’s just a great guy. He’s so professional, so diplomatic, so visionary.”

‘HE NEVER TOOK SIDES’

After getting a degree in social work from the University of Minnesota, Schug took a year off to travel in Europe and Scandinavia, where he worked as a goat herder in Norway for three months.

He got his start in county government in 1974, when he was hired as a social worker for Crow Wing County in Brainerd, Minn. After six years, he moved to Redwood Falls, Minn., to work as director of social services in Redwood County.

Schug and his family moved to Stillwater in 1986 when he got the job as community-services director in Washington County. He was named county administrator in 1994, beating out 120 other applicants in a nationwide search.

Former county commissioner Mary Hauser was board chairwoman when Schug was hired. Hauser, who served from 1991 to 1999, said Schug’s background in social services was invaluable.

“He was able to bring disparate interests together and facilitate a happy ending to whatever problem we were trying to solve,” said Hauser, who lives in Birchwood. “One of his strengths was that he was able to draw out those who were reticent about committing themselves and also able to rein in the rampaging sort, the bullying sort, of which I count myself.

“He never took sides. The county’s policies and welfare were always in the forefront of his thinking process and his professional care.”

County employees knew they could count on Schug, said Dan Papin, the county’s director of community services. “He always had my back,” Papin said. “I always felt that I had support from him when the chips were down.”

SCHUG’S STYLE: FAIR AND RESPECTFUL

Schug, a calm and gentle presence at county board meetings, brings out the best in people, commissioner Gary Kriesel said.

“He’s developed such an outstanding leadership team, and he’s allowed them to excel at their jobs,” Kriesel said. “His whole leadership style is governed by fairness, listening and respect.”

But Schug is “quick to respond to anybody who challenges the integrity or honesty of his staff,” Kriesel said. “One time we were at the Capitol, and someone was questioning the motivation of the county. Jim was quick to step up and vigorously defend the county. I could see the hair on the back of his neck standing up.”

When the cities of Woodbury and Cottage Grove were at loggerheads over watershed-management organizations, it was Schug who stepped in and made everyone come together for a kumbaya moment, said Cottage Grove City Administrator Ryan Schroeder. “He is always looking for the win for all sides.”

After overseeing a couple of budget-challenged years and the completion of a $69 million expansion of the Washington County Government Center, Schug said now is a good time to move on.

“The construction is done, and it’s very successful,” he said. “The budget is very stable. We’ve maintained our AAA rating, and we have a very solid fund balance. We’ve been able to manage the cuts in state funding with minimal impact to people – both people receiving services and also staff.”

The Washington County board on Tuesday picked Deputy Administrator Molly O’Rourke to be administrator. Schug said O’Rourke will do a great job as his replacement.

“During her 10 years, she’s developed incredible knowledge about the county and its issues and challenges,” he said.

Schug’s wife, Connie, retired last year as a public health nurse for HealthPartners. The couple’s three daughters and five grandchildren – the grandchildren range in age from 4 months to 3-1/2 years – all live in the metro area.

The couple also wants to do more traveling and spend time at their lake cabin near Danbury, Wis., he said.

As he leaves public service, Schug said he is grateful to have landed in Washington County.

“It’s a great organization. It’s a great county. It’s a wonderful place to live,” he said. “We’ve raised our family here, and they’ve all stayed or returned to the area.

“I don’t want to sound sentimental, but this has been probably one of the absolutely best public-sector jobs in the state. It’s been a privilege to have it all these years.”

Mary Divine is a reporter for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. She covers Washington County and the St. Croix River Valley, but has also spent time covering the state Capitol. She has won numerous journalism awards, including the Premack Award and the Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists' Page One Award. Prior to joining the Pioneer Press in 1998, she worked for the Rochester, Minn., Post-Bulletin and at the St. Joseph, Mo., News-Press. Her work has also appeared in a number of magazines, including Mpls/St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Business Monthly and Minnesota Magazine. She is a graduate of Carleton College and lives in St. Paul with her husband, Greg Myers, and their three children, Henry, 16, Frances, 14, and Fred, 11.

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